


Curiosity

by steampunkmagic



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid, Drabble, Gen, Painting, Requested fic, mermaid au, mermaid river song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-08
Updated: 2014-05-08
Packaged: 2018-01-23 23:52:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1584011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steampunkmagic/pseuds/steampunkmagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>River collected the purple seaweed that grew past the coral beds.   Her deft, pale fingers carefully plucked the shimmering growth and wove it into the curls of her hair.  The color complemented her golden scales in a way that she loved to see in the polish stones.  But before returning home River knew she would have to undo all her work, for the purple plants only grew near the land of the humans.  It was far beyond the territory of her people, far beyond where she was allowed to swim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curiosity

**Author's Note:**

> Written for The Floor 500 Network on tumblr

          

 

                 River collected the purple seaweed that grew past the coral beds.   Her deft, pale fingers carefully plucked the shimmering growth and wove it into the curls of her hair.  The color complemented her golden scales in a way that she loved to see in the polish stones.  But before returning home River knew she would have to undo all her work, for the purple plants only grew near the land of the humans.  It was far beyond the territory of her people, far beyond where she was allowed to swim.

                Following the rules, however, was never something River was good at.  She was too much like her mother for that.  Smiling at the thought, she glided along beside the towering empires of coral calling out to the fish living inside.  Like always they came, a bright, swirling vortex of rainbow hues which darted around her curious and wild.  River loved them and their strange behaviors, just as she loved anything unusual.

                It was that insatiable curiosity which brought her so far from the safety of home.  The world beyond her was a mystery that needed to be explored and River was determined to do just that.  Leaving the cloud of fish she darted upwards suddenly breaking through the swells into the salty brine filled air. 

                The first lungful made her cough, free from the water the breeze was stinging cold.  Kicking her fins to keep afloat River laughed joyously and marveled to hear the sound of her own voice.  It was clearer, brighter here in the human world.  Everything was; the peal blue sky, the dog whelk shell sand, and the cries of the gray galls above her.

                River stretched out her hand towards the sun watching the way the light glittered against the pearls and pink coral beads threading around her wrist.  A shocked noise wrenched her attention back to the shore abruptly. 

                There was a human standing at the edge of the surf, his wide eyes locked on her.  He was tall and rakishly thin with soft, brown hair that fell down into his face.   Handsome and alien at the same time.

                River froze unsure what to do.  She had broken the ultimate rule: never be seen.  Everyone said nothing but death came from being seen by a human.  Death and pain.   She swallowed hard.

                Then the human did the last thing she expected: he smiled.


End file.
